Not Quite Valentine


Associating Chap Goh Meh, the fifteen night and last day of Chinese New Year with Valentine’s Day isn't something new. On this day, young single ladies supposedly get a chance to meet potential suitors. They supposedly write their names and contact numbers on oranges and throw them into lakes and rivers to be picked up by young single men; a practice not so romantic to qualify for a lover's day, I would say; but this is often cited in written articles about the day that one would think it's a common practice that is still being practised when it's not. Oranges aren't that cheap these days and there aren't many lakes and rivers to go by; not to forget too that people of different sexes mix freely these days and young girls do not need such desperate measure. If there is a Chinese Valentine’s Day at all, it has to be the Qixi Festival.

More Chap Goh Meh greetings!


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